Preformed ribbing for insoles



M. E. PEHRsoN 2,736,675

PREFORMED RIBBING FOR INSOLES Feb. 28, 1956 Filed Feb. 8, 1955 Fig.

v odheswe I coated odheslve coated pyroxylin coaed INVENTOR.

United States Patent() PREFORMED RIBBING FOR INSOLES Manfred E. Pehrson, Malden, Mass., assigner to Prime lManufacturing Company, Lynn, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 8, w55, Serial No. 486,793

-3 Claims. (Cl. 154-535) This invention relates to preformed ribbing for attach- -ment to insoles in making welt shoes. In -comprising ribbing of new and improved construction adapting Iit for manufacture at low cost, distribution in coil form, as well as convenient, accurate and rapid handling by yrib-attaching machinery now available to the industry.

Rib 4attaching machines of two types are at present in use. In one the component parts of the ribbing are drawn from separate sources and combined or assembled on their way to the point of application to the insole. To the other type of vmachine the ribbing is supplied in preformed condition so that the machine has only to shape its attaching flanges properly `and secure them -to the sole. The ribbing of the present invention is designed to be applied by machines of the latter type in accordance with the wellknown Prime Process.

The ribbing of my invention comprises a narrow strip of iirm and exible fibre-board having a pyroxylin nonad'herent coating on one face, Iand this is combined with a wider strip of tape coated on one face with a tacky adhesive solvent-activatable coating. The tape is adhesively and permanently attached to the uncoated face of the fibre-board strip and folded to extend beyond one edge of the strip so that the pyroxylin-coated face of the strip and the uncoated face of the tape are presented on the same side of the ribbing. An important advantage of such ribbing is that the tape may carry an attaching `surface which is of pronounced tacky character which will adhere quickly and securely to the surface of the insole and at -the same time will not adhere to the pyroXylin-coated face of the fibre-'board strip. From this it follows that my improved ribbing may be coiled without blocking, distributed in coil form to the user, and advanced by the machine directly from the coil to the point of application in the machine.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective suggesting the preforming step by which the ribbing is made up and showing it also in its completed form,

Fig. 2 is a view in cross-section of the ribbing in coiled form,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of an insole with the ribbing applied thereto, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged end view of the ribbing shown in Fi l.

its best shown in Fig. l, the components of the ribbing comprise a relatively thick narrow strip of fibre-board or other tirin flexible material preferably of brous nature. It is uniform throughout in width 'and thickness except that it may be symmetrically and longitudinally scored by a shallow lgroove 11 which thus provides a break line for the strip when the latter is given right angular crosssectional form in the attaching step. In forming the scored line 11 or in otherwise preparing the strip, it is rice convenient to knurl or roughen the upper section 12 of the strip. The scored lface of -the strip is n-ow provided with a thin coating or film of pyroxylin, so thin that it can hardly be detected on inspection but effectively protecting that surface of the strip against adhesion to any adjacent tacky surface. While a coating of liquid pyroxylin is to be preferred, a coating of equivalent material having the same desirable properties would be within the scope of the invention provid-ed only that it does not otherwise adversely affect the texture and initial characteristics of the strip.

With the strip 10 is combined a wider tape 20. ri`his may be substantially twice the lwidth of the 'strip 1Q and coated on its face 21 with a solvent-act-ivatable adhesive such as a ysolution or rdispersion of natural or synthetic rubber latex. The tape is permanently and adhesively secured to the uncoated face of the strip 16 throughout approximately one-half its width and folded or doubled upon itself along the line 22 so Ithat it extends as shown in Fig. 2 upwardly above `the upper edge of the strip 1li and with its adhesive coated `face directed in opposite direction from the pyroxyl-in-coated face of the strip It?. The ribbing thus described and shown at the right side of Fig. l and Fig. 4 is the material which it is desired `to supply to the shoe manufacturer and the source of supply for his rib attaching machine.

The most convenient way of distributing the ribbing is in coiled formation, `somewhat as suggested in Fig. 2. By thus coiling the ribbing it will be seen that in each turn the 'inner or pyroxylin-coated face of the strip 10 enel-osea and contacts with the adhesive coated face of the tape as it extends upwardly or downwardly from the fol-d line 22. The result is that there is little or no adhesion or blocking between these contiguous faces even though the ad- Ihesive coated face of the tape is decidedly tacky in its character. As already pointed out, it is advantageous that this is so in order that the ribbing shall quickly and accurately adhere to the insole without danger of misplacement before it is actually pressed into permanent union.

In the coil shown in Fig. 2, the successive turns are only partially telescoped within each other. They are thus shown for purposes of illustration and it will be apparent that the advantages above explained 'apply equally well to a coil for-med with all its turns in spiral rather than helical relation. It will be understood that a coil of ribbing such as thatshown in Fig. 2 may be mounted in convenient relation upon or 'adjacent to the rib applying machine and fed from the coil to the surface of -the insole as the machine operates. The ribbing permits the employment for welt shoes of a dat insole which in itself is too thin or of too tender texture to permit channeling and lip turning. The insole 23 is first provided with a coating of cement activating material and then, as it is progressively passed through the machine, the ribbing is brought into contact with the coated portion of its surface and at the same time given its final shape, that is to say, the strip is folded longitudinally to present an upright rib and a horizontal attaching flange in its section 10 and the tape 26 is formed into a horizontal attaching flange which extends inwardly from the upright rib.

As suggested in Fig. 3 the outer flange of the section i6 may be slashed to facilitate bending the rib about the convex contour of the insole.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described a preferred embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. As an article of commerce, preformed ribbing for attachment to insoles, comprising a narrow strip of relatively thick bre-board scored in its outer face and having a pyroxylin non-adherent coating on its scored face, Iand a wider strip of tape coated on one face with a tacky adhesive solvent-activatable coating on one `face and being adhesively and permanently attached to the uncoated :face of the libre-board strip in face-to-face con-tact and folded to extend beyond one edge of said strip, whereby the pyroxylin coated face of the fibre-board strip and the uncoated face of the tape are presented on the same side of the ribbing and may be coiled Without blocking.

2. As an article of commerce, a coil of preformed ribbing for attachment to insoles, comprising La narrow strip of fibre-board and a wider strip of tape permanently and adhesively secured together in overlapping relation, the outer face of the fibre-board strip having a non-adherent coating of pyroXylin and the inner face of the tape having a coating of tacky solvent-activatable adhesive and being folded upon itself and projecting beyond one edge of the ibre-board strip, the preformed ribbing being coiled with the pyroxylin coated face of the fibre-board strip in contact with the tacky adhesive coated face of the folded tape.

3. Preformed ribbing for use in making welt insoles comprising a thin rm strip of brous material scored longitudinally and having a pyroxylin coating on its scored face, combined with a tape of textile material 'adhesively coated on one face and secured to the Unscored face of the fibrous strip throughout approximately one half the width of the strip, doubled upon itself and presenting an uncoated face disposed on the same yside of the ribbing as the pyroxylin coated face o f the brous strip, the scored line facilitating bending the fibrous strip to present a. right angled attaching Ilan-ge matching an lattaching ange pro vided by the unattached portion of the adhesive tape on the other side of the ribbing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. AS AN ARTICLE OF COMMERCE, PREFORMED RIBBING FOR ATTACHMENT TO INSOLES, COMPRISING A NARROW STRIP OF RELATIVELY THICK FIBRE-BOARD SCORED IN ITS OUTER FACE AND HAVING A PYROXYLIN NON-ADHERENT COATING ON ITS SCORED FACE, AND A WIDER STRIP OF TAPE COATED ON ONE FACE WITH A TACKY ADHESIVE SOLVENT-ACTIVATABLE COATING ON ONE FACE AND BEING ADHESIVELY AND PERMANENTLY ATTACHED TO THE UNCOATED FACE OF THE FIBER-BOARD STRIP IN FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT AND FOLDED TO EXTEND BEYOND ONE EDGE OF SAID STRIP, WHEREBY THE PYROXYLIN COATED FACE OF THE FIBRE-BOARD STRIP AND THE UNCOATED FACE OF THE TAPE ARE PRESENTED ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE RIBBING AND MAY BE COILED WITHOUT BLOCKING. 